Cigarette case



May 4 1926 v 1,582,991

. C. W. LLOYD I CIGARETTE CASE Filed Nov; 16, 1922 lcj Veg 1:15 CONYLRSi W. 11 erg Patented May 4, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT oFricE.

CONVERSE W. LLOYD, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE SANLFOLD COMPANY,

' INC, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

Application filed November 16,

CIGARETTE CASE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CoNvEnsn a citizen of the United States, and a resident-of the c ty of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Cigarette Case; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the numerals of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

It is an object ofthis invention. to provide cigarette caseof a kind that will enable the user to know readily how many cigarettes remain in the case without opening it.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a cigarette case of a shape curved to fit the pocket with a sliding cover also curved.

last few remaining cigarettes from tipping over and becoming wedged in the case.

It is a further objectof this invention to provide a readily slidable cover with a re.- liable fastening device for holding it in closed position.

Other and further importantobjects of this invention will be apparent from the disclosures in the accompanying drawings and the following specification.

The invention (in a preferred form) is illustrated in the drawings and hereinafter more fully described; On the drawings Figure 1 is a top plan view.

Figure 2 is a horizontal section.

Figure 3 is a section F igure 2.

Figure 4 of Figure 3.

upon the line 33 of is a section'upon the line 4t Figure 5 is asection upon the curved line 5 -5 of Figure 2,.and. Figure 6 1s a hor zontal a m dificationsection through Serial No. 601,249.

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the ciga- N. LLOYD, rette case shown in Figs. 1 to 5.

As shown on the drawings:

The case consists of two members or halves 10 and 11, each formed by a press with dies in a way well understood in the art. The material used is preferably imitation tortoiseshell, celluloid, balrelite, redinanol, or other similar substance which is plastic in workable state, and assumes a firm condition after it has been shaped. Preferably too, the material chosen is of translucent or semi-transparent character for a reason which will be explained below. i

The box forined from these halves is not 70 flat but is slightly curved to fit readily in the pocket of the user. The half 10 of the box is made for the convex side and its edges are offset as shown at 12 at each side to afford a good lapjoint with the other half 11 of the box A similar lap joint is made at 13 in the bottom of the box where the bottom parts of the halves 10 and 11 come together. The upper edges of the halves are offset to form grooves 14 shown in Figure 3 to afford a seat for the cover 15. The u'pperinost edges of the halves 10 and 11 are turned back to cover the grooves 1 overlapping the edges of the slidable cover 15 as is shown at 16 in Figure l.

The cover is formed with a flat inargin or flange 17 to cooperate with the grooves 14. The body of the cover rises from both ends toward the middle as shown best in Figure 5 at 18, and the middle of the cover is depressed as shown at 19 to form a hold for the finger or thumb of the user. The concave half 11 of the box is provided adjacent the groove 14 and near the center thereof with an inwardly projecting struckin portion 20 and the cover 15 is provided at the middle of its concave side with corresponding recess to receive the struck-in portion E20.

The box illustrated in. Figures 1 to 5 is intended to accommodate a single row of cigarettes. In the illustration chosen, six cigarettes are represented, but obviously a greaternuinber of cigarettes in a single row could be used if desired. Then a still larger number ofcigarettes are to be accommodated, a box of double thickness is made as .tion 34: is provided.

the corresponding parts which have just been described except that they are deeper, and the ends are so formed as to provide pockets 83 for a single cigarette. In the double row form, central crosswise partii-i. similar partition wi 1 be used in cases for a single row of cigarettes it the width is great enough to make it necessary. At 32 a seam corresponding to the lap seam 12 is made.

In the use oi the box, cigarettes are placed in position with their length parallel to the height of the box and the cover 15 is then slid onto the box, the flanges 17 en aging the grooves 1d. This sliding may be from either edge of the box. As the round end of the cover reaches the middle of the open end of the box, the ilange 17 pushing against the inward projections 20 causes the sides of the box to spring slightly outward with the result that the struck-in portion 20 presses against the edge of the flange 17 and causes enough friction to prevent accidental movement of the cover further than the user intended. When the cover reaches the position in which it comp etely closes the box, the struck-in portion 20 enters the reccss in the edge of the cover. When the box has been filled with cigarettes and the cover brought to its central position, engagement of the struck-in portion 20 with the recess in the cover holds the cover in this position eiiectively. Moreover, the resistance oiiered by this snap fastening is so much greater than the friction oiiered in other positions of the cover, that the user is aware when the cover is in central position without the necessity of carefully looking to see whether it is there.

When it is desired to remove a cigarette from the box, the user takes the box in one hand, holding one edge of the box downward as shown in Fig. 7 and moves the cover by his finger or thumb upward so far that the bottom cigarette is uncovered, or it he prefers he may move the cover downward so as to uncover the upper cigarette. lVhen the cigarettes between the partition 3% and one edge or" the case have all been removed, the user may either reverse the case so that the other half is down or may reverse the direction of motion of the cover. The cigarettes fitin the box o loosely that a very slight shake is suliicient to cause the bottom cigarette to emerge as shown in Fig. 7. The other cigarettes are retained within the box by the cover which has been moved far enough to uncoverone cigarette only. When the cigarette has partially emerged, the user, may, it he desires, raise the box to his lips so that it acts as a holder to carry the cigarette until. it is inserted in the users mouth. it is thus possible to remove a cigarette from the box and place it in the mouth using only one hand.

in the small box intended to accommodate a single row of cigarettes when all of the cigarettes except the last one or two have been removed, only a slight tendency for the cigarettes to become wedged between two edges of the box is present, because of the curvature of the case. If, however, the width of the case necessitates it a partition like 34L will prevent such tippin In the larger box wedging of the cigarettes by tipping is prevented by the use of the partition 34, which prevents the last few cigarettes from falling over.

lVhen the user desires to ascertain how many cigarettes remain in his case, he holds the ease up to the light and the semi-transparent character of the case enables him to observe the shadow where the cigarettes are, and the lack of shadow where there are no cigarettes, so that it is possible to ascertain without opening the box how many cigarettes it contains. Moreover, this result is obtained without the use of any external indicator or other visible sign that the box can perform this function.

I am aware that numerous variations in the details 01"- the structure may be made through a wide range without departing from the spirit of this invention, and I therefore do not purpose limiting the patent grantet otherwise than is necessitated by the prior art. lVhile the invention has been illustrated in connection with a specific form of cigarette it is not confined thereto but may be used with any cigarettes or cigars oi a form permitting them to be carried and delivered in the manner above described, and any such cigars or cigarettes are intended to be included in the term cigarette in the specification and claims.

1 claim as my invention:

1. A case adapted to contain and dispense a single column of cigarettes one by one, said case con'iprising a substantially rectangular chamber having an open end and whose width is slightly greater than the diameter o1 the ordinary commercial cigarette whereby a plurality of cigarettes when placed therein may move freely longitudinally of the chamber and yet be retained in column formation by the side walls of the chamber, the open end of said chamber being provided with a slidable closure member movable longitudinally of the chamber and when slid a distance equal to or slightly in excess of the diameter or" one of the cigarettes, adapted to permit the end cigarette to be dispensed from the case by quick movement thereof in a plane substantially parallel to the cigarette axis and at the same time adapted to retain the remaining cigarettes positively within the case.

2. A case adapted to contain and dispense one by one cigarettes which are retained therein in column formation, said case comprising a substantially rectangular chamber having an open end and whose width is slightly greater than the transverse dimension of the cigarettes retained in column formation whereby a plurality of cigarettes when placed therein may move freely longitudinally of the chamber and yet be retained in column formation by the side walls of the chamber, the open end of said chamber being provided with a slidable closure member movable longitudinally of the chamber, and means permitting a single end cigarette to be uncovered when said closure member is slid a distance equal to or slightly in excess of the diameter of one of the cigarettes, adapted to permit said single end cigarette to be dispensed from the case by a quick movement thereof in a plane substantially parallel to the cigarette axis and at the same time adapted to retain the remaining cigarettes positively within the case.

3. A cigarette case comprising side walls and end walls adapted to loosely retain a number of cigarettes in substantially parallel relation in contact with each other and with a single lowermost cigarette at either end resting against the corresponding end wall when said end wall is held downward, and upper cover means movable in either direction to uncover said single cigarette at either end while retaining the remaining cigarettes in the case and adapted to be opened by a simple movement of one finger of a users hand while the remaining fingers of said hand are holding said case, so that said case may be opened and shaken by one hand to deliver a single cigarette upward from either end while retaining any remaining cigarettes in the case.

4. A cigarette case comprising side walls and end Walls adapted to loosely retain twenty cigarettes in substantially parallel relation in series contact with each other and with a single lowermost cigarette at either end resting against the corresponding end wall when said end wallis held clownward, an upper cover member slidable in either direction to uncover said single cigarette at either end while retaining the remaining cigarettes in the case and adapted to be opened by a simple movement of one finger of a users hand while the remaining fingers of said hand are holding said case, so that said case may be opened and shaken by one hand to deliver a single cigarette upward from either end while retaining any remaining cigarettes in the case, and an intermediate wall member sufficiently close to said end walls to prevent a cigarette from taking a position at right angles to said end walls.

5. In a container, side walls having grooves in their upper edges, a cover sliding in said grooves, and a centrally disposed projecting portion on one of said parts adapted to engage a similarly disposed recess in the other part for retaining said cover in closed position, said projection affording constant frictional resistance in other positions of adjustment of said cover.

6. In a container, side walls having grooves in their upper edges, a cover slidable in said grooves, and a projection midway of one of said grooves, the edge of the cover having a recess corresponding to said pro jection whereby when the cover is in closed position, it will be retained by the coaction of said projection and recess, said projection affording constant frictional resistance in other positions of adjustment of said cover.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto sub-r scribed my name.

CONVERSE l/V. LLOYD. 

